AKIPRESS.COM - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today for the development of a sustainable National School Feeding Programme.

“With this MoU, the first between WFP and the Ministry – we are pledging our commitment to improving the lives and creating a better future for the children of Tajikistan by investing in school feeding. We will work together towards the transition of the current school Programme to be a government-owned programme from 2021 to 2027,” said WFP Representative and Country Director in Tajikistan Adham Musallam.

School feeding is among the priority areas of the National Development Strategy 2016-2030, National Strategy for Education Development 2021-2030 and its Mid-term Action Plan 2021-2023. Its institutionalization is particularly set forth in the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the School Feeding in Tajikistan up till 2027.

The School Feeding Programme is WFP’s largest operation in Tajikistan. Since 1999, the organization has been partnering with the Government to implement and manage school feeding across the country. In vulnerable and food insecure communities, providing healthy food to children at school means better nutrition, improved health as well as increased access to education.

Currently, around 430,000 Tajik schoolchildren from grades 1 to 4 in 2,000 schools of 52 rural districts are served hot, nutritious soup or other local meals. Traditional bread baked using staple food commodities provided by WFP is also included. With the support of the Russian Federation, WFP also works on the renovation of school canteens, bakeries, and continued training of school staff on healthy diets.